“A Man on the Move, and just sick enough to be totally confident.”

He wasn’t just an asshole. He was an inspirational asshole.

Interestingly, he breaks a rule Cory lays out explicitly in “Science Fiction Publishing for Dummies” (or whatever it’s called)

His method of suicide was cruel to his loved ones. I know he had little tolerance for the euphemisms of civilization because something within had less tolerance for his own frailty. ergo, drugs, maybe. You can hear it laced in the genius of his words. But he just couldn’t seem to effect a buffer between that those close to him. Guess that is why he was him.

If you think you can use me, drop me a line.

If not, good luck anyway.

That right there is how every jobseeker’s cover letter should close.

This might be the most sensible thing Thompson’s written that I’ve ever read. “Here’s who I am, here’s what you can expect, here’s what I expect, if it sounds mutually beneficial let’s do it, if not let’s not waste each other’s time.”

Not knowing anything else about the man, if I liked his samples, I’d hire him. Of course, knowing Thompson in retrospect, I might come to regret that. But I’d probably sell a pile of newspapers in the interim, before the liability costs mounted too high.

Did he ever have anything to do with Kurt Vonnegut? I imagine those two could have produced some extremely entertaining conversations…

Working link: http://www.lettersofnote.com/2009/09/okay-you-lazy-bitch.html

Holy fucking crap… get a load of this comment.

Anonymous said…

Blah, blah, fucking blah. Hunter knew his work deserved better treatment and gave this inflated bitch a literary flailing for giving him any less. That said, stop sucking this man’s cock. Thompson is dead and gone, and I doubt he would care about this letter’s reception much more than he did the ammunition that he brained himself with. He wasn’t a legendary writer; he simply used abrasive polish where most weak-minded hacks nostalgically glossed over. He had a way with words few do or ever will, but a literary giant does not that make. Sadly, his body of work will be legendary – not because of its significant quality and insight – but because cocksucking, hipster-cred-seeking meatbag swine will continue to add his name to their “My Favorite Authors” columns on Facebook and the like while they read little to none of his work. This is basically rubbing his ashes on your face and proclaiming, “I AM GONZO TOO!” No you fucking are not. You are swine. You are pigs-in-waiting that want to posture themselves as something you collectively cannot grasp. It isn’t an Acapulco shirt you can put on, it isn’t your shiny “Bid Red Shark” automobile, it isn’t the rum in your glass nor the cigarettes in your pipe stem, and if you think you have it, you should blow your brains out too. It died with Hunter because he knew pigs and all manner of terrible beasts would try to align themselves with something they feared because they lacked the power to comprehend, the “true grit.” In all manifestations of the phrase, he was essentially telling all of you (not just this lazy bitch) soulless fad-seekers out there not willing to commit to anything to go fuck yourselves (much better than I or anyone else can). Put on another mask and decorate your swine shell with insecurities, if only to cover your piggy features from discerning eyes. Make no mistake, THE WORLD SEES YOU FOR WHAT YOU ARE AND WE WILL KILL YOU FOR IT. Nothing is so bad as humans lacking identity and even more the originality to make their own. Thieving, lying swine. Fuck you all.

7 July 2010 08:18

Not sure I entirely agree, but that’s one impressive rant.

yes, many very famous and important folks came from Canada: Shana Twain, William Shatner, Peter Jennings. How can anyone not know that?

Scott, whom Thompson had addressed his letter to, was a Sun columnist who was appointed editorial director in September 1958.

According to Time, the “tart-tongued” Scott “unleashed all of his formidable flair for spectacular stunts” in his new role, which included sending the football editor to Formosa (now Taiwan) to interview Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Republic of China, and the women’s page editor to Cuba to cover the aftermath of the revolution.

THAT is GENIUS. I would still drop everything to read either one of those stories.

“The Proud Highway” is my favorite Thompson book, because you get a glimpse of who Thompson was, and what he was about, before he wrote his own legend.

*sigh*

yanks …

I really recommend his collected letters to anyone who digs his work (I’m about half way through the second volume now). You can see the evolution of a lot of his philosophy (though a solid groundwork was laid very early), and it’s cool to see him struggle with his style.

The letters are much milder in tone, in general, than the fiction/nonfiction he published.

Interestingly, he breaks a rule Cory lays out explicitly in “Science Fiction Publishing for Dummies” (or whatever it’s called)…he rips into people who reject/edit/criticize his work. But only early on. Young egos bruise easily, I guess.

“A high-powered prototype of some kind, never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”

RIP HST. Hope the season’s not over, where-ever you are.

Well, we know the country to our ‘north’ is Russia. But practically speaking, Ottawa is the second largest city in the 51st state (51-54th, not really sure which) and as such we should still spell it correctly….

That’s Thompson “editing” his former boss’s memo, not someone editing Thompson.

- An Ottawaian